The other day I was listening to a podcast of one of my favorite sports radio shows. Barry Rozner was describing Hall of Fame second baseman, and now manager of the Philadelphia Phillies, Ryne Sandberg. He described Sandberg as the guy who got up every morning and took 180 ground balls each day for practice. Sixty to the right, sixty to the left, and sixty to the center. He wondered aloud if Sandberg's drive and work ethic would translate in the modern Philadelphia Phillies club house. Would that work ethic, drive to be the very best resonate with 35 year-old three-time all star and individual noted to slack off at times Jimmy Rollins.
Jimmy Rollins is a talent individual. He has had a nice 13 year career. He was on a World Series championship in 2008. He was National League MVP in 2007 and also won the Silver Slugger award that year. He has been successful. As he reaches the sunset of a good career, is he a Hall of Famer? Does he belong with the elite 237 players that have been selected to join this noted club out of the over 10,000 players that have played the game at the Major League level? Or is he a next group, the Hall of Very Good. Talented individuals who made a difference but didn't do quite enough to be in the select Hall of Fame. Is he more of the likes of Fred McGriff, Lou Whittaker, Ray Durham, and Alan Trammel? Good, but not quite elite. Furthermore, if Jimmy Rollins had the work ethic of Ryne Sandberg, would he have been able to propel his career into that elite stratosphere.
This teacher is not a slacker. This person has come to work for years and done exactly what was expected. However, when we ask for different things, the questions arise, "Why? What difference would this make? For all this work is it worth it? Aren't we good enough already?" Here is the difference between an individual that is working for the Hall of Fame and an individual that is working for the Hall of Very Good. Hall of Famers work each day to be the very best at their craft. Hall of Famers recognize that there is an unlimited capacity within each of their students. They don't see ceilings but opportunities. They are driven each day to help each of their children thrive. They look to adjust their work in order to maximize the outcomes for themselves, their teams, and their students.
The Hall of Very Good compared to the Hall of Fame is why we change. In suburban education, many schools, many teachers, many students are doing very well. Can we do more? Can we achieve higher? Can we help our students grow faster? Can we open more doors for each child? Do we have an obligation to accomplish this? When you compare school districts in the suburbs on international tests, we score equivalently with the top nations of the world. Lower rates of poverty than urban and rural help us guarantee this success. Our children, in general, come in at a higher readiness level. We know we will be relatively successful, the question remains, "Can we accomplish more?"
NBA Hall of Famer, Michael Jordan, was know for his relentless practice habits. His willingness to push himself and his teammates harder daily in practice and throughout the grind of the NBA regular season. He his widely recognized for being the greatest player of all time. Throughout his career, he changed moving from the above the rim player in that in 1991 flipped hands as he flew to the rim against the Lakers to the 1998 champion who had an unstoppable crossover and jump shot.
These are the differences. If it is worth it, we make the changes. We drive and we adjust as kids change, content changes, assessments change, times change, and teaching techniques change. Each of us makes the choice if we will be members of the Hall of Very Good and the Hall of Fame. Each of us decides if we will be the one who helps to reach the highest peaks. Yes, our achievements to date are very good. The question is, "Do we want our students to be great?" If so, we need to be relentless in our pursuit of greatness.
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